Ministry of Grace Church

Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised the third day according to the Scriptures,

Truth to Learn

The most important part of the Easter message is the Gospel (the Good News).

Behind the Words

The word translated “gospel” in is the Greek word euaggelion, which is a compound of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and aggellō, meaning “to proclaim.” It means “good news.”

“Received” is translated from the Greek word paralambanō, which is composed of para, meaning “from” and lambanō, meaning “to take” or “to receive.” This word means “to receive to oneself something that is offered.”

Meaning Explained

We spent a lot of time these past few days analyzing Scripture and doing calculations to determine exactly on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. However, it doesn’t matter one iota whether He was crucified on a Wednesday, a Thursday, a Friday, or any other day of the week. The important thing is not what day it happened, but that it really did happen. The perfect man, without sin, suffered on the cross to pay the penalty for imperfect mankind, steeped in sin. He died for you and me and he was buried. But even that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that He didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead and now lives forevermore.

One day this life will be over and when it is, you and I will stand before the Judge. When we do, it won’t matter whether we know for sure what day of the week the crucifixion occurred on. And, it won’t matter how many times we went to church. It won’t matter how much money we gave to the church or to the poor or to the homeless. In fact, it won’t matter how many good and benevolent deeds we have done at all. The only thing that will matter is whether or not we have believed the gospel message. I mean “believed,” not on an intellectual level, not in our head, but in our heart. Paul describes it as having “received” the gospel message.

If you truly believe the gospel, then the Bible says that you “have been bought with a price” and it says that you were purchased, “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish of spot.”

Application

Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins? Have you submitted your will to Him as your Lord and Master? If your response to all of these is yes, then you too will be with Him in Paradise!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2019 Will Krause. All rights reserved